LANCASTER, PA (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University led by as many as 17 points in the second half and held an 11-point margin with 6:25 to play before holding off a furious rally from defending Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Bridgewater State University as the Gothic Knights defeated the Bears, 85-84, in the opening round of the Franklin & Marshall Rotary Tip-Off Tournament on November 15 at the Mayser Center.
 
NJCU (1-0) will face host F&M in Sunday's championship game; the Diplomats routed Washington & Jefferson College, 85-59, in the other tournament opening round contest.
 
Junior red-shirt shooting guard David Cole (Avenel, NJ/Colonia), who was lost eight games into last season with an ACL injury, made a triumphant return for the court, scoring a team high and career best 17 points in 24 minutes, shooting 5-of-8 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point distance and 4-for-4 from the line.
 
In a physical contest that saw a combined 61 fouls whistled, the two clubs combined to shooting 62-of-89 from the foul line.
 
Justin Clark, who was instrumental in the BSU comeback bid, scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.
 
Senior power forward Drew Marley (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) had a great opener, scoring 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes. Junior shooting guard Khalid Muhammad (Orange, NJ/Orange) came off the bench to tally 12 points (3-5 FG, 6-9 FT) in 17 minutes and senior transfer Neville Joseph (Newark, NJ/West Side) added 11 points (3-8 FG, 5-12 FT) in his Gothic Knight debut at small forward.

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